What can cause impetigo | what answered

What can cause impetigo

What can cause impetigo, Impetigo is a skin condition which manifests in the form of red sores. It is a highly contagious disease that is most common among infants and young children. Sores caused by impetigo are prevalent on the face and sometimes on other parts of the body as well. In most cases, impetigo is a short-term infection and goes away after a few days or weeks. However, since children are likely to be affected, it could lead to some health problems. Hence, prevention is the best option. Here are some of the most common causes of impetigo.

Cuts and Wounds

The bacteria that spread and cause the infection do so through penetrating the skin. Cuts and wounds are the foremost ways in which bacteria finds an opening to enter your body and start taking effect. The bruise doesn’t necessarily have to be caused by injury. Even the lesions that are made on the skin by other diseases, such as dermatitis, can give the bacteria a way into your body. Insect bites are also a risk factor for impetigo. Cuts and wounds are the leading causes of impetigo among adults.

Physical Contact

As mentioned above, impetigo is highly contagious. Even being near a person who is infected can transmit the bacteria on to you and you can get the infection as well. Direct physical contact more or less seals your fate. If you happen to touch the sores of a person affected by impetigo, then you are bound to get the infection. Other modes of transmission include sharing clothes, pillows or any other items the person has touched.

Staph Infections

Staph bacteria can cause a number of infections. Impetigo itself is caused by staph bacteria. This means that people who have had staph infections before can develop impetigo as well. The bacteria are already present in their bodies, which is why they had the infections in the first place. Given enough time, the bacteria could mature enough to cause impetigo as well. However, this does not mean that every person who has had a staph infection would have impetigo as well.

Age

At the beginning of this article, it was written that children are highly vulnerable to impetigo. This has been the case ever since the disease was recognized as a major skin problem. Hence, being in the age group of 2 to 6 increases their risk of developing impetigo. To be clear, it is important to mention that impetigo can occur in people of all ages so no person or age group is immune to this infection.

Weak Immune Systems

A weak immune system doesn’t have the strength to fight off the bacteria that cause impetigo. This is one reason why children are frequently affected by it. Their immune systems aren’t fully developed which puts them at risk of contracting the disease from others. Any person who suffers from immune deficiency is susceptible to developing impetigo.

These are some of the most common causes and risk factors for impetigo. As you can see, most of them can be controlled.

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